The M&M 2006 meeting will begin on Sunday, July 30, with a pre-meeting congress entitled “Materials Research in an Aberration-Free Environment.” The pre-meeting congress will share Sunday with a number of topical Short Courses addressing image processing and analysis, live cell imaging with fluorescence methods, scanning cathodoluminescence microscopy and spectroscopy, variable pressure and environmental SEM, and electron tomography. Examples of biological topics that will be addressed during the week of the meeting include: Cell Biology; Pathology; Microbiology; Microscopic molecular machines; Immunolabeling; and Photosynthetic organisms. Topical symposia in the physical sciences are: Nanoscience and nanotechnology; Catalysis; Quantitative X-ray microanalysis; Visualizing mechanical behavior; and Magnetic materials. In joint sessions for biological and materials scientists, symposia will address TEM automation, cryo-approaches for TEM, SEM and FIB/SEM, and surface microscopy. We honor the passing of Hans Ris with a special symposium on Cell Biology and Microscopy, and Art Chodos with a special symposium on Quantitative X-ray Microanalysis. Of special interest will be two 50th anniversaries: The first observation of dislocations, and the first experiments in elemental mapping by X-rays. Supplementing the topical sessions will be a number of tutorials and ask-the-experts sessions that will provide the opportunity to learn the basics behind several popular techniques. As always, the commercial exhibits will provide a unique opportunity for hands-on learning with the largest variety of state-of-the-art instrumentation found at any microscopy meeting worldwide.